at the center of it, larry hagman from ft. worth, reveling in his role the evil conniving oil man, j.r. ewing, here with his wife sue ellen, actress susan gray. >> you're a drunk and unfit mother. the sooner we have you put away in that sanitarium the better off you'll be. >> reporter: people loathed him and were disgusted by his ways but wooed by his wicked humor. >> don't forgive and don't forget and do unto others before they do unto you. >> reporter: when j.r. was shot in that 1980 cliff-hanger [ gunshots ] -- the world spent months asking "who shot j.r.?" even the queen mum who wanted to know who pulled the trigger. record households tuning in to learn the answer, it was j.r.'s scheming sister-in-law kristin. hagman himself in theater before tv. a five-year run on "i dream of jeannie." the astronaut and the genie who loved him. >> master, it's almost 3:00 in the morning. get some sleep. >> reporter: in fact, when "dallas" began, linda gray said she remembers the day the cast first met. she said he still looked like the as